Am I on my own, or am I just getting soft in my old age?
Both Chopins Piano Concertos are amazing.
mainly for his masterful etudes which were just lovely and really posed a pianistic challenge...Both Chopins Piano Concertos are amazing.
I am not crazy about Chopin, but I like many of his compositions, the 1st concerto included. I also like Zimerman's recording of it, I also like Weissenberg's and Perahia's (Perahia's is a little too over-romanticized for me, but I like it).IMHO, his etudes are good but not as good as pieces like the 2nd sonata, polonaise-fantasy, fantasy in F-minor etc.... I also think his 2nd concerto is overrated, it is not bad, just not as good as his best works.
I find it a bit odd that you would categorically state that Chopin's Etudes are not as good as the 3 totally different types of works you list....
I find it a bit odd that you would categorically state that Chopin's Etudes are not as good as the 3 totally different types of works you list. How does one compare any Etude (or selection thereof) to a huge 4-movement sonata, or a unique work like the Polonaise-Fantasy or other works, "etc."? Now I could find a comparison of something like "I don't think his mazurkas are as good as his waltzes" to be a better (comparing a skill at composing in 2 dance forms), yet still a bit odd. And more realistically, comparing Chopin's Etudes to another composer's Etudes might be more appropriate. Would it seem reasonable to compare Michelangelo's statue of David with the Sistine Chapel? Not to me. Let it be...
I think Chopin's piano concerto's are alot less good than his piano-solo compositions. The concerto's are basicly just piano solo's with abit of simple orchestra background. They lack the musical interaction between piano and orchestra like for example the rachmaninov's.
But it's very effective Orchestra background in my opinion :]